The seat slides towards the center of the vehicle, the backrest changes its position-instead of a driver’s seat, the “Flex Seat” is a place to rest. The minivan no longer a car, but a lounge or office. An interior that adversely adversely adversely.
Martin Pohl, 27, developed this concept. His bachelor thesis at the Hof University of Applied Sciences: a radical new interior for autonomous driving at level 4. cars that steer, accelerate, brake in an area intended for this purpose – people can sleep, read or work. Driver? Superfluous. And Pohl asks the question: Why then a rigid seating concept, a rigid cockpit?
Depending on the area of application, the interior can be adapted flexibly.
His path began at Opel with an apprenticeship as a model maker: filing, milling, designing. “Creative construct and plan – that’s my foundation,” he says. Then the jump to the technical school for product design in Selb. Technology degree, technical college entrance qualification, IHK instructor certificate-all in three years. In 2021, “Design and Mobility” studies followed in the newly founded course at the Hof University of Applied Sciences. His bachelor thesis: Excellent with the top grade 1.0.
Pohl’s design interprets the Opel DNA based on the “Opel Compass”-based on the concept that the Opel Junior in 1983 already showed. Modularity is the principle. Seats, displays, ventilation elements, loudspeakers: all modules, movable, removable. Even the music box can be carried outside for a picnic. More space, without giving up comfort. “I was based on my Opel Meriva in the interior: For compact dimensions, the model offers plenty of space in the interior,” says Pohl.
“Autonomous driving creates freedom that needs to be filled. My approach relies on the greatest possible flexibility.”
– Martin Pohl –
For his thesis, Pohl has worked deep into a new topic: artificial intelligence. They helped calculate variants, rendering, when trying out surfaces. “AI is not a substitute, but a catalyst,” emphasizes Pohl. It takes over routines – such as the calculation of the eighth, ninth sitting variant. “And it opens up freedom for what really matters: the decision, the creative process.” “Understanding prompting, data quality and AI tools is now just as important as classic drawing or modeling,” says the 27-year-old.
The “Flex Seat” concept shows what the automotive future has: cars that become habitats-sometimes a job, sometimes retreat. Martin Pohl opened a door with his work: away from the static car, to dynamic space. And he shows what AI can do in design – “It is a tool for greater freedom.”
The car becomes a van with a sturdated rear seat.
October 2025
Photo: Opel/Andreas Liebschner; Visualizations and animation: Martin Pohl